Mobile backhaul networks connect cell sites to a mobile switching office (MSO) so that network traffic (e.g., voice, data, video, etc.) may be routed to appropriate destinations. In this manner, wireless carriers utilize mobile backhaul networks to transport or “haul” network traffic between the cell sites and the MSO so that the traffic may be delivered to a larger network (e.g., the Internet).
Ethernet-based mobile backhaul networks are commonly used to provide suitable bandwidth for transporting network traffic between the cell sites and the MSO. In this scenario, a service provider may provide Ethernet services to a customer (typically a wireless carrier) so that the customer may use the service provider's network (e.g., optical fiber) for mobile backhaul purposes. Such services are commonly referred to as “carrier” Ethernet services. In this scenario, a mobile backhaul network may include one or more service provider network domains having equipment (e.g., fiber and switching equipment) to provide carrier Ethernet services between a cell site(s) and an MSO. An Ethernet virtual circuit (EVC) (sometimes referred to as an “Ethernet virtual connection”) may then be established in the mobile backhaul network to connect customer endpoint devices at the cell site and the MSO, as well as the aforementioned network domains therebetween, for providing packet-mode communication services.
As wireless technologies continue to evolve, the mobile backhaul networks must continually adapt to meet the needs of high throughput and high capacity wireless technologies, such as evolved high speed packet access (HSPA+), long term evolution (LTE), or any future Internet protocol (IP)-based network technology so that the mobile backhaul networks do not become a bottleneck for network traffic. In order to insure that mobile backhaul networks meet requisite performance requirements, carrier Ethernet service providers allocate a certain amount of network bandwidth to an EVC in the mobile backhaul network based on a Service Level Agreement (SLA) between the service provider(s) and the customer.
In order to enforce the SLA, standards bodies, such as the Metro Ethernet Forum (MEF) provide Operations, Administration and Maintenance (OAM) capabilities allowing, among other things, performance measurement implementations for identifying where performance degradation, impairments, and/or faults, if any, are occurring within the mobile backhaul network. For example, Technical Specification MEF 35 “Service OAM Performance Monitoring Implementation Agreement,” published in April of 2012, specifies that both the service provider and the customer are required to take EVC performance measurements at EVC Maintenance Entity Points (MEPs) within their own network domains. In this scenario, each individual entity (i.e., customer and service provider) is responsible for measuring performance in the portion of the EVC within its own network domain. However, such an individualized measurement scheme creates challenges for performance monitoring of the network traffic flow that occurs between network domains (“inter-domain” network traffic flow).
Currently, there is no measurement scheme for monitoring the handoff performance of network traffic that is transmitted between network domains. As a result, it is difficult to enforce an SLA for a mobile backhaul network when performance falls below requirements specified in the SLA. This is due primarily to the fact that two different entities operating in different network domains of a mobile backhaul network may disagree on performance measurements made within their respective domains, and each entity may claim that their performance data is correct. With no scheme for monitoring handoff performance at the interface between network domains, it becomes difficult to resolve such a dispute.